Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
O kay. This was her time to shine. Mia sat with Dani, Martha, Janine, and other members of the town council around the conference table at the tourism center. They had scheduled video calls for today and planned to put all the fancy tech invested in this room through its paces.
Mia hadn’t known what to expect the night before when she picked her kids up from Cody’s. But they looked great—all smiles. Finn said something about being a football player, and Maggie babbled nonstop about the big boat. They both smelled faintly of cedar and eucalyptus and engine oil. A scent she usually associated with Cody, actually. They were clean and full and tired and had gone right to bed with just one story.
It was a little like a miracle.
She’d hoped to pick up the conversation with Cody from earlier, but with the kids being ready for bed, it hadn’t been the right time.
Today, she had taken the kids over to Evie’s house in Port Joseph where they would spend the night. She’d breathed a sigh of relief on her crossing. Just like every time she’d taken the ferry since Troy’s death, she’d been tense the whole time, but the boat made the trip without a hitch.
In preparation for this meeting, Mia had prepared slide shows, one for each candidate. Sure, they were trying to see if these applicants were a good fit for the program, but they were also trying to entice them to choose Jonathon Island. A mutual wooing, as it were. She’d shown the presentation to the council and received mostly approved nods, though Martha’s face hadn’t given away many of her thoughts.
The computer blooped with the video chat connecting noise, and they all turned their attention to the screen.
Mia gripped her hands together before wiping them on her pants.
Dani led the first part of the discussion with Meredith Olson and her husband. They hoped to open a bakery specializing in treats made with Michigan blueberries.
Each of the other members of the group had a chance to ask a few questions, and then it was Mia’s turn. “I’ve prepared a few slides to show you the store space I think would be perfect for you, it used to be a pizzeria, as well as a house that fits your requests.” She’d gone around taking photos of all the homes and businesses.
Onscreen, Meredith nodded, a smile cresting her lips. So far so good.
“Let me just share the screen.” Mia moved to the computer, past Patrick, and sat next to Dani. She clicked a few buttons, and a photo of Finn and Maggie filled the screen.
“That doesn’t look like a house,” Meredith said, her voice dry.
Mia heated. “Sorry. Sorry. Just a second.” She clicked into the correct program and the old Island Pizzeria popped up. “This is the place I thought you might like to rent.” She ran them through the specs ending with, “Of course you are free to bring your own equipment, but the previous owners left a few things behind.” She loaded a photo of a huge Hobart mixer.
“I’m prepared to offer a very low rent,” her dad’s voice rumbled from across the table.
“Yes, we understand that.” Meredith looked at her husband. Their faces, projected on the screen, revealed nothing of their thoughts. “Can we see the houses please?”
Mia clicked to the next part of the presentation. “This home on Poppy Lane has been recently refurbished.” She noted with pride the changes Cody had made to the space. Everything looked beautiful. She clicked through a few more slides, doing her best to sound like a competent real estate agent.
“I’m sorry,” Meredith interrupted. “Did you say there are only two bedrooms?”
“Yes, many of the houses we are offering only have two bedrooms.” Mia’s pulse rate spiked. “These are all older homes. Some even have historic value.”
Meredith sniffed. “We have two children. We will need more than two bedrooms.”
“Aren’t they both daughters?” Mia realized her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. Of course, Meredith wouldn’t want her daughters to share, otherwise she wouldn’t have asked for something bigger.
The room grew heavy with silence as everyone stared at Mia. She thought quickly over the other options. “Okay. I can show you one with three rooms.” She maneuvered to another presentation. This meant she’d have to scramble to fit in a new house for the other candidate. “This one has three lovely rooms and a wraparound porch.” She concentrated on the photos, pointing out the benefits of the home. Around her the silence grew thicker.
She glanced up at the screen. Oh.
Meredith sat back in her chair, arms crossed, a grim look on her face. “This one won’t work either. We need a bigger yard for the dog.”
Mia swallowed hard. Her first call and she was already failing. “All of the houses with three bedrooms have the same size yard.”
“So, you’re saying it’s choose a yard or choose more bedrooms?”
Mia’s mouth was too dry to speak so she only nodded.
“Well then, I guess we are out.” Meredith ended the call and Mia sat back, stunned.
“Well, that could have gone better,” Martha said. Her strident voice seemed to wake everyone else from their silence and they all started talking at once.
Dani handed her a water bottle.
“Thanks.” Mia cracked the lid. The cool liquid slid down her throat and soothed her nerves.
“This was just the first one,” Dani said. “We never thought it would be easy.” An alarm beeped on her phone and Dani turned it off. “Everybody, listen up. Next, we have,” she checked her clipboard, “Jemma Swanson. She is a glassblower.”
Soon, a young blonde about Mia’s age appeared on the screen.
“I’m so excited to be part of this project,” she said. “I can’t wait to move over there and get started.”
Her enthusiasm was contagious. Soon, the whole group was firing off questions for Jemma, and she was sending them right back.
Yes, she was from Michigan.
Yes, she’d been on the island before.
Yes, they would give her a low rent, and the houses really were a dollar.
And on and on.
When Mia finally showed the slides she had prepared, Jemma barely even looked at them.
“I’m sure you know which place will be best for me. You’re more familiar with everything there. This all looks great.” Jemma beamed into the camera. “I will have some equipment that will need to be delivered if my application gets approved.”
Dani and Mia exchanged looks before Dani looked around the table. Everyone was nodding.
“Jemma, we’re all very excited about having you aboard. We’ll let you know a final answer soon. We’re having an in-person meet and greet next week. We’d love to have you there,” Dani said. Onscreen, Jemma jumped up and did a little dance.
“Thank you all so much,” she said. “I don’t know if I can make it next week, but I’m all in. I won’t let you down.”
They ended the call. Once again everyone began talking at once, but this time, a happy note rang in the air.
The day progressed with more calls, and each of the council members took a turn leading the discussion. The pile of notes beside Mia grew larger. She had a stack of yeses and a stack of nos. Right now, they were tied. There was also a stack of maybes, people who the council weren’t sure about and a few who were themselves unsure.
“Last one on our list,” Dani said. “This will be Mrs. Linda DeVoe. She sells specialty clothing. It’s Janine’s turn to lead the discussion.”
Linda DeVoe was an older woman, perhaps in her sixties. Her hair was neatly styled, and she wore dangly earrings and a pastel top. A much younger man sat next to her.
“I hope you don’t mind if my nephew’s son sits in,” she said. “He’s helping me with the computer. It can be finicky.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be quiet,” the young man said. “I don’t know much about clothes anyway.”
The interview ran in fits and starts. There was a strange lag on the audio, and they kept talking over each other.
“Maybe we can hash out these details when I come to town,” Linda finally said.
“That would be great,” Janine said. “Would you like to see the business and home we’ve picked out for you? Subject to your approval, of course.”
Mrs. DeVoe nodded and Mia started her presentation, showing her the various details of the places they’d earmarked as possibilities for her.
Mrs. DeVoe pursed her lips. “I don’t know. It’s not something I can really determine over a screen. I just don’t know if I’m ready to make any decisions.”
“That’s fine.” Janine took back the presentation. “We will send you the details of the in-person event soon. Hopefully we can impress you enough for a yes.”
They thanked Mrs. DeVoe and ended the call.
The meeting broke up and everyone devolved into a general chaos of hand shaking and back slapping. One by one, the council members filed out.
Cody passed behind Mia’s chair, then leaned down and said in her ear, “Good job.” Before Mia could respond, he’d walked out the door.
Across the table, her dad cleared his throat. “Yes, good job, Mia.”
She nodded at him once, then looked back at the papers in front of her until she heard him get up from the table and leave the room. Dani came back into the room and sat next to Mia.
“How do you think that went?” Dani laced her hands together and laid them on the conference table.
“So-so,” Mia said. She flipped through the stacks of notes. “I think we’re going to have to go to our second tier of applicants.”
“Will there be enough?”
Between them, the computer hummed as it cooled down from the meeting.
“I hope so. I’ll take a look tonight.” Mia jotted down a few more notes. “I will have plenty of time, the kids are at Evie’s.”
“Maybe you should take the night off. Do something fun.” Dani’s eyes lit up. “You could come out with Liam and me.”
“And be the third wheel? No thanks.” She didn’t need pity.
“Oh come on, it would be fun. You could invite Cody.” She singsonged his name.
“Stop. You’re not being funny.” But she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. “Cody and I actually had a weird conversation yesterday.”
Dani propped her chin on her hand, elbow on the table. “Do tell.”
“Basically, he told me that he’d liked me when we were younger, but then Troy and I became a thing.” She crossed her arms, tucking them tight to her body. “And then, things got intense. He was looking at me and I thought…” She swallowed.
“Thought what?”
“I thought he might kiss me.”
“What?!” Dani’s squeal echoed through the room. “You guys kissed?”
“No.” Mia put her hand out to calm Dani. “I said I thought he might. But then Finn came, and the moment was over.”
“Uh huh,” Dani said. “Okay. So how do you feel about that?”
“I don’t know.” Mia buried her head in her arms on the table. “I think I might be starting to have feelings for him.” Hopefully her muffled voice carried to Dani’s ears, because she was not repeating that.
Dani rested a hand on her back. “And how do you feel about that?”
She let out a long breath and sat up. “I don’t really know. I don’t have time to think about it, or feel about it for that matter. I can’t let a relationship get in the way of saving my house. Cody and I have always been friends, and we’ll just go on that way.”
Dani gave her a long, hard look. “Cody wouldn’t let you lose your house. You know that right?”
Of course she did, but still. “I’m just not ready, Dani.”
“I get that.” Dani gave her arm a squeeze. “But don’t close yourself off to the possibility. Now, let’s pack up and go out and do something together.”
“No. I need to get this work done. My kids’ home is more important than a night of fun.”
Dani sighed. “I suppose you’re right. But don’t let all this work take over your life. You are allowed to have fun sometimes too.”
“I’ll remember that.” Mia left the building and walked toward her home, trying not to think about the long, lonely night ahead of her.
* * *
He should have known better.
Cody’s feet pounded along the boardwalk. Unable to sit still this morning, he’d answered the call of the morning sun and went out for a run. In the past few days, he’d tried to put his head down and make some progress on finding the parts for his boat. He planned on making some calls to former clients as well. Fat chance.
Because then Mia called, upset because she wasn’t going to make her quota. Then his mother had needed him to help his father move the wood pile from one side of the yard to the other because she wanted to plant blueberry bushes. And was that a pretext to get them together and talking again? Probably. Didn’t work. Sorry, Mom. And then Dani had him come tear out some cabinets in one of the storefronts. And suddenly it seemed like everything else was more important than finding the right gasket for a twenty-year-old marine engine.
After an hour of frustration scouring eBay, Boat Parts Unlimited, and Marine Wholesale—usually his go-to websites—he had been unsuccessful in getting the part he needed. Even with the income from fixing up houses and businesses around town, he didn’t have the funds to source a new engine, not even a half-working refurbished one. Not if he could convince his dad to sell—he needed every penny he had saved for that.
He’d concluded that the whole world was telling him, “Nope. Not today.”
His restless feet had propelled him into his running shoes and out the door.
Stubborn thoughts chased him down the trail. No boat parts meant no boat. No boat meant no fishing business. And if his dad was going to cling to his decision to give up the commercial license, Cody’s dreams were dead in the water anyway. The waiting list for those licenses stretched to the moon. His dad’s would be snapped up before Cody even had a chance to add his name to the list.
Overhead, a flock of seagulls whirled and spun in the air. Going nowhere but making a lot of noise doing it.
He put a little more speed into his step.
If he wasn’t going to be a fisherman anymore, who was he going to be? Sure, being the island handyman paid the bills, but he didn’t want to be fixing toilets and replacing drywall for the rest of his life. He liked being outdoors, even in rough weather.
He stumbled over a high spot in the boardwalk, his momentum carrying him over and down on one knee. He landed hard with a loud crack. Hopefully that was the board and not his kneecap.
“Whoa! Are you okay?”
Wincing, he stood back on his feet. A quick check of his knee showed it was mostly his ego that got bruised. Pastor Arnie sat on a bench near the boardwalk, his shock of red hair lit by the sun. Cody hadn’t noticed him before. Pastor Arnie got up and moved over to him. The fifty-something man had pastored on Jonathon Island for almost thirty years. His wife, Tara, was affectionately known as the town mom.
“That looked painful.”
Cody grimaced. “Yep.” He put his hands on his thighs and bent a little at the waist, breathing hard. Coming to an abrupt stop was not a great way to end a run.
“Sorry. I guess I stated the obvious. Anything I can do? Doesn’t look like you’re bleeding.” Arnie reached out and put a hand on Cody’s shoulder.
“I just need to catch my breath a minute.” He stumbled a step or two, still bent over.
Arnie reached for his elbow. “You can share my bench, if you’d like.”
Cody sat next to Arnie. Closing his eyes, he leaned his head back. The sun warmed his face. Around them, the gulls still called to each other. A fishy smell filled the air. He let a few minutes of silence pass.
Opening his eyes again, he looked at the preacher. Pastor Arnie sat with his elbows propped on the backrest, looking calm and content. Cody got the sense he would sit there all day if he thought that was needed.
“Thanks,” Cody said. “I appreciate you sitting with me.”
“My pleasure,” Pastor Arnie said. “I come out here to think. I was just about to head back to the church when you tumbled by.”
“Ha. Funny.”
“How is that boat of yours coming?” Pastor Arnie had been among the crowd who’d gathered last fall when his derelict treasure had been towed into the marina and then up to his pole shed shop.
“Slow.” He detailed the process and how he’d been stymied at every turn. “Now I can’t find the part I need to get the engine running again.”
“So, basically everything in the world is distracting you from getting this job done.”
He rubbed at the back of his neck. “That about sums it up.”
“I don’t know.” Pastor Arnie paused.
“What?”
“I could be way off base here, but I’ve known you for years. I don’t think you’d let a few setbacks and distractions prevent you from finishing something you set your mind to.”
Cody clenched his jaw, then relaxed it again. “What are you saying?”
“Just that maybe there’s more to your lack of focus than just some little chores that people ask for help with.”
They weren’t little chores, but whatever. “I’m still not sure what you’re saying.”
“Can I be honest here?” Pastor Arnie gave him a searching look. Cody nodded. Bring it on. “It’s just that I think there might be other issues you haven’t faced yet. You haven’t really dealt with what it would be like to be out there again. Without Troy. And possibly in danger again. How often do you go fishing now?”
Oof. Cody sucked in a deep breath. That question had sucker punched him in the gut. But, to be fair, he’d given the man permission. “I guess…I haven’t really been back out there other than taking the ferry once or twice.”
“Maybe you need to figure out what you are afraid of. I’m guessing that’s more the issue than the distractions you’re allowing to sidetrack you.”
A cloud passed over the sun, dappling the light.
Cody sat in stunned silence. Was fear holding him back? Before he formulated a response, Pastor Arnie spoke again.
“If it really is that you don’t have the time to finish the project, well, that’s valid too. But if it’s fear that’s holding you back, let me remind you of a verse from Psalm thirty-four. I’ll text it to you.” Pastor Arnie pulled out his phone. A few seconds later, Cody’s phone pinged with an incoming text. “The Pastor Arnie paraphrase of Psalm thirty-four, verse four says that if we seek the Lord, He will deliver us from all our fears.”
Cody tapped into his Bible app and navigated to the verse. “Thanks. I’ll think about this.”
Pastor Arnie slapped his knees and stood up. “On that note, I’d better get back. My sermon won’t write itself.”
Cody stood too, then tested his knee before bending to touch his toes. Everything worked. A few stretches later, he began to jog back the way he’d come.
His run and his thoughts carried him past his house and down to the water. In addition to the larger commercial fishing trawler currently berthed in his shop, Cody owned a speed boat. At the shoreline of his lot, a small wooden dock jutted into the water. Bobbing to one side floated his speed boat. He faithfully put it in the water every spring and hauled it out again for the winter. He paid the fee to have it registered and kept the motor full of gas.
But he hadn’t actually taken it out on the lake for two years.
Not since the last time he and Troy had taken an early morning fishing trip—the day before the accident.
The brilliant sun now shone overhead, its rays dancing on the water. The twin lake scents of loam and fish called to him. Pulled him toward the bay and the lake beyond. Except, he couldn’t get his feet to follow the tug deep in his belly.
“Are you having a staring contest with that boat?” Liam walked up next to him. “You look like the boat stole your dog and spat on your best pair of boots.”
“What?” Cody wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed or humored by the comparison.
“Your hands on your hips, feet squared up.” Liam shrugged. “Just looked like you were about to ask the boat to meet you outside for a ‘conversation.’”
Cody let out a small laugh, devoid of humor. “I guess it kind of is like that.” He glanced to the side. Liam wore casual pants and a windbreaker. He’d tucked a ball cap over his designer haircut. Maybe…“I don’t suppose you’d want to take a boat ride, would you?” If he had to face a few demons, it might be good to have backup.
Liam checked his smart watch. “If we make it a short ride, I’d enjoy getting out on the water. I’ve got about an hour to spare before I promised to meet Dani. I just came by to show you some pics of the fishing rods I ordered. Will that be enough time?”
Cody nodded. “Works for me.” He started walking toward the dock, Liam trailing behind. The ancient structure wobbled as they stepped onto it. “I can show you a few good spots around here for when you’re ready to use your gear.”
Liam rubbed his hands together. “Let’s do it.”
A few minutes later and Cody had the boat running. Liam, sporting the bright blue life vest Cody had tossed him, untied the mooring line under Cody’s direction, and they eased away from the dock. A pit opened in Cody’s stomach, taking his heart and throat and all of his blood down into itself. He stood in front of the captain’s chair at the wheel and Liam perched on the bucket seat next to him.
The dock had slipped twenty feet behind them when bright spots blinked at the edges of Cody’s vision. He blinked to clear them. Standing at the helm of his boat was like slipping back into his own skin, despite the memories nipping at the corners of his brain.
He swallowed hard as he swung the boat in a wide arc to come around the bay. “One of my favorite spots is just a little ways off my own dock.” As he spoke, a band tightened around his chest. He tugged at the neck of his life vest but didn’t get any relief.
The boat rocked in a swell from the left. He turned the wheel to the right, overcorrecting.
“Whoa.” Liam clutched at the side of the boat as the inertia threatened to topple him. A spray from their wake hit them.
“Sorry about that, man.” Cody focused on watching the swells ahead. Keep it together . The bright lights in his vision came back and his head swam.
“Cody? You don’t look so good,” Liam said. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” He gritted his teeth. Suddenly, his view of the sun-dappled lake in front of him was replaced by an image of a stormy night, a sinking boat. The air filled with a remembered scream.
“Cody, sit down.” Liam’s commanding voice broke through the memory. His hand was heavy on Cody’s shoulder, forcing him back into the captain’s chair behind him. Liam turned the key to shut off the boat’s engine and silence rushed in. “Want to tell me what that was all about? Pardon the expression, but you’re as white as a ghost.”
Sitting very still was helping clear Cody’s head. The white lights subsided, and his heart rate came back to baseline. Tell Liam? Yeah, he supposed he owed the man an explanation.
“I haven’t been out in a boat like this since Troy and Steve died.”
“Coulda warned me.” Cody cut his gaze to Liam. Liam’s eyes twinkled. “I’m just kidding. It wasn’t like we were in any danger. We weren’t going fast enough. I was just afraid you were going to pass out.” Liam rummaged around in an old cooler Cody kept on deck. He came up with a bottle of water. “I don’t know how old this is, but the seal is intact. You need to take a few sips.” Liam cracked the cap and handed the bottle to Cody.
His hands shook as he took a long pull. Cool water slid down his throat.
“Want to talk about it?”
No. Except his mouth didn’t get the memo. “We were out on a late-night run, chasing a school of fish. Like usual, it was Dad, Troy, Troy’s dad Steve, and me as a four-man crew. Dad had asked me to check the forecast, and everything looked fine. Or at least…Well, I saw a threat of a storm, but it was far off, and I didn’t want to call our night.”
He could still picture that radar screen, its bright colors seared onto his retinas. Reds and yellows to the south, but those storms were tracking east. Plus, they were far enough away there was no danger to Lake Huron.
Right.
Cody swallowed, but his tongue had run dry. He sipped at the water. “We headed out to the Straits of Mackinac like we always do, but I was distracted. A bunch of chatter came over the radio about the storm north, and suddenly, it hit us. We didn’t have time to get off the lake.”
Liam nodded. His eyes were intense. Cody looked away.
He remembered the wind blowing sideways, the rain like bullets. “We’d been in rough waters before but nothing like this. Dad was reeling in the fishing lines while I fought to keep the boat under control. I should have asked for help—I was in way over my head. And then the storm pushed us onto the rocks.” He shut his eyes, but the scenes still flashed in front of him.
“Steve, Troy’s dad, got thrown overboard. He went under instantly. My dad held Troy back from jumping in after him, but then the boat began taking on water and heeled over on its side. Troy was dumped in, along with my dad.” Cody swiped a hand over his eyes.
“It’s okay,” Liam said. “You don’t have to say it.”
Except, this felt like catharsis. Because he’d never actually told the story in its entirety, out loud—just relived it over and over again in his mind. Torturing himself. But there was something different about processing it verbally, for someone else who hadn’t been there.
His voice dropped to a whisper. “I called SOS and then went for the life preservers. By then, the ship was listing so badly, the deck was a playground slide. I pitched in, barely hanging on to the life preservers.”
“What? I can’t even imagine.”
“I don’t even know how I reached my dad. Gave him one of the life preservers. Then I spotted Steve and managed to get a life vest under his arms. The waves were crazy, taking us down, slamming us toward the rocks. I finally spotted Troy. He was limp, and I thought he was already dead. I got to him—and no. Alive. But he’d broken his back, was nearly drowned, his lungs full. Barely breathing. I kept telling him to hang on, that he had a family to get back to…I couldn’t get us up on the rocks, so I held Troy to me, and we floated together until the Coast Guard arrived. The last thing he said to me was to hold on to his wife and kids for him. He died in my arms.”
“Sounds like a hero move.” Liam laid a hand on his shoulder.
“No. Desperation. I should have read the storm, should have turned for home. And maybe if I’d gotten the life preservers to them sooner—I don’t know.”
Cody blew out a breath. “We were rescued by the Coast Guard, but it was too late for Steve too. He probably was dead before I gave him the preserver.” Cody’s voice broke. He cleared his throat.
He could still picture Mia from those days. How she’d met him at the hospital, hope in her eyes, only to be crushed by the truth. He had failed her. Her mother-in-law too. They were both widows now.
“That’s horrible, man. I’m so sorry.”
“I am finally starting to believe that it wasn’t all my fault. Everyone around me keeps reminding me of that fact. It’s sinking in.” The admission tore out of him. But, like removing a splinter, he felt a little better when it was said. “But bad things happen to me. And I let them happen to my friend too.”
“Doesn’t sound like it to me. All I hear is that you saved your dad, tried to save your best friend, and were all the victims of a storm no one predicted. Bad things happen to everyone. What matters is how you deal with it.”
Cody barked out a sound that could have been a laugh if it weren’t so bitter. “My dad blames me. That’s why he wants me to get out of the business.”
“I don’t know your dad, but he should be proud of you, not holding you to something that wasn’t your fault.”
Cody shrugged. Then his shoulders slumped. “Nevertheless…”
Liam stayed silent a while. The choppy lake banged against the hull of the boat. “Drink the rest of that water. Then let’s get you back to shore.”
Cody complied then helped Liam navigate back to the dock. “Sorry for the worst boat ride ever.”
“Thanks for telling me all that. Takes courage to spill your guts.” Liam grabbed a line and began tying the boat to the dock.
Cody took the other rope and secured the front of the boat. “Let’s go out again. Maybe once I’ve gotten this,” he gestured to himself and then the boat, “figured out.”
“Works for me.” Liam took off his life jacket and stowed it.
Cody gripped his shoulder before letting go and removing his own jacket. “Thanks for listening, man.”
“Anytime.”
When Liam had gone, Cody made his way into his shop and laid down on his bed. His body shuddered as it came down from the adrenaline.
So much for figuring things out. He’d been on the water once and freaked out.
He sat up again. Okay. He was just going to have to go on the water again. And keep going until he didn’t freak out.
No one else was going to solve this for him. Which meant it was time to stop sitting on the sidelines of his own life once and for all.